We live in a time when the availability of books and technology offer a greater and faster route to learning than ever before. We are fortunate that those who take great pains to learn about a specific subject turn their knowledge into a book or video apparently for our benefit, so we might, in turn, increase our knowledge too.

The world of dogs is no exception. Never has there been such an interest about dog behaviour, training and related methods, dog personality, psychological development, instinct and the relationship between dog and mankind. With all this rich material to choose from, why on earth is so much of the information written or spoken in language that us normal people can't understand.

While we congratulate the PhD's, MSc's and related degrees and diplomas out there, the main reason surely for writing a book or making a video is to inform others, not to bore them with psychobabble. One wonders if the jargon so widely used these days is in fact an effort to let us know how clever the author is rather than how important it is to learn how to view and treat our dogs properly.

Academics, whoever they are, seem to forget how to write simply. Maintaining the impulsion that interesting narrative generates leaves the reader wanting more and more and more. Anyone who has heard Bruce Fogel speak or has read any of his books will know exactly what I am talking about. It also helps to know that those who are telling us what to do have in fact done it themselves. Most dog owners will be aware that while the book has it sorted by the end of the chapter, most dogs 'learning curve' (academic language) will go straight up or down until the compromise is found that satisfies both parties or the owner has a fit of the screaming 'habdabs' because the book has said it should have happened in ten days or by the full moon.

My collection of dog- related books is considerable. I am fascinated by the insight of many and despair at others who set a language obstacle course to get their point over. Some dog-classes are the same, by the time the excited and eager-to-learn dog owners have been submitted to an hour of psycobabble, they retreat to their homes, battered, bored and regretting that they parted with so much money. This above all else is not good for 'the dog' as our increasing knowledge should be for his benefit and not be massaging some inflated ego.

There are some wonderful people out there who offer excellent training courses at all levels and who use simple and understandable language and techniques. The ones' that have achieved the understanding that knowledge, sensitivity and instinct must all be married together to enable the smallest amount of awareness about dogs to take place, are a valuable commodity. Seek them out.

Suggested reading;
The Dog's Mind, by Bruce Fogle. Pub; Pelham Books